Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I apologise as I thought it was one of the aforementioned four items. The Order Paper is very long. I was referring to No. 22 on the Order Paper, which was laid before the House yesterday. As I presume Members will come to it next week, I will make my point then. I apologise to the Cathaoirleach. It is a case of being overly-organised.

I completely agree with the point raised by Senator Twomey. Members must look seriously at where the country is going. The real test of a government is its performance when matters are going badly. Problems will be created if the Government begins to pull back from the national development plan. We must continue to build infrastructure to enable us get out of any recession and the national development plan should be given support.

If aspects of the plan require reconsideration, this should be done in a proper way. The national pay talks and partnership talks were set up to do so as they were born out of bad times in 1987. At a time when people are sitting around the table, they should be obliged to listen to the problems that have arisen. The Government should outline its problems, the other participants should do likewise and people should be obliged to listen to one another. I will outline what should not happen. Members may have heard a funny piece on "Morning Ireland" this morning when a representative from the Small Firms Association made an impassioned appeal in respect of the national development plan. He advocated reforming and cutting back on the public services and suggested that money should not be spent on various aspects of it. He suggested everyone else should be obliged to cut back and the Government should not spend money and should pull back on everything. He then was asked what the members of the Small Firms Association intended to do. Without a trace of irony and without drawing a second breath, he replied they would continue to do what they always did.

Such an attitude will destroy this country. Everyone should get stuck in to do his or her bit, the Small Firms Association included. Everyone must listen to and share their problems to find a common solution. National partnership talks are the ideal place in which to so do.